Regarding the change-over from Impulse to Steam; if one's original copies of Sins of a Solar Empire and the following micro-expansions, Entrenchment and Diplomacy, are on Impulse, how does that tie in with Rebellion being released on Steam?

Before anyone starts telling me that someone already asked this, yes I realize that. The question wasn't answered; I am aware that Rebellion is a stand-alone expansion, however, stand-alone expansions typically only give you access to the content of said expansion. So, to say it in different terms, does one gain access to the content of Entrenchment and Diplomacy with their purchase of Rebellion, or is there a way to transfer one's Impulse copies to the Steam network? Because otherwise, that's saying we essentially need to purchase a second copy of the game plus micro-expansions, if we wish to enjoy the full game's experience.

Thank you for taking the time to read my post! No smart-alick responses please, I'm not posting this so I can get flamed or trolled by someone who thinks they're smarter than me. I'd just like a clarification of whether I can still build star bases and make diplomacy pacts etc. without purchasing second copies of the previous content. Sorry for the rant. Cheers

Rebellion contains all of the features of the prior releases, but there is only the one Rebellion executable (so you can't "fall back" to the older versions without the new Rebellion features and play with people who don't have Rebellion unless you had purchased those versions previously).

Regarding the change-over from Impulse to Steam; if one's original copies of Sins of a Solar Empire and the following micro-expansions, Entrenchment and Diplomacy, are on Impulse, how does that tie in with Rebellion being released on Steam?

when you purchase/preorder rebellion over at Stardock.com you will then be prompted to sign into steam, +Add a game down on the lower left corner of the steam interface, and 'activate a product on steam' using the Steam code Stardock.com provides post checkout. From there, when you launch the rebellion demo via steam, it will prompt you to enter your Stardock acct email and password. This here is where the bridge is between prior Impulse purchases and the new Steam interface. But in terms of playability, as you know rebellion is a standalone game integrated with steamworks and the content of the previous releases as kryo mentioned above. Your serial numbers for, say, your trinity pack, will be what you registered with back then and are not compatible with steam's serials. A launch through impulse or a steam's 'non-steam game' launch will be required to play Trinity, or any individual expansions you may have acquired.

Sorry for the long winded answer but I hope i cleared it up without confusing.

From there, when you launch the rebellion demo via steam, it will prompt you to enter your Stardock acct email and password. This here is where the bridge is between prior Impulse purchases and the new Steam interface.

That's just the same Stardock activation that we've always used. There's no magical bridging going on (Rebellion is already on your Stardock account... we gave you the key, after all).

Whether you have Trinity or where you got it doesn't really have any bearing on Rebellion, aside from the preorder pricing.

A launch through impulse or a steam's 'non-steam game' launch will be required to play Trinity, or any individual expansions you may have acquired.

Trinity doesn't need to be run through either; there is no client dependency to run it.

Quoting Cannella29, reply 36From there, when you launch the rebellion demo via steam, it will prompt you to enter your Stardock acct email and password. This here is where the bridge is between prior Impulse purchases and the new Steam interface.

That's just the same Stardock activation that we've always used. There's no magical bridging going on (Rebellion is already on your Stardock account... we gave you the key, after all).

Whether you have Trinity or where you got it doesn't really have any bearing on Rebellion, aside from the preorder pricing.

im just trying to help him understand that because now he's going through steam it doesn't mean it will ignore his previous purchases. Steam's executable will lead him straight to his Stardock registration on first launch which has knowledge of previous purchases. ergo my bridge metaphor.

A launch through impulse or a steam's 'non-steam game' launch will be required to play Trinity, or any individual expansions you may have acquired.

Trinity doesn't need to be run through either; there is no client dependency to run it.

this is true though, I forgot about the ability to launch it without your client open.

Did I read correctly that Rebellion won't run on Win 8 CP? Because the spinning activation circle is doing the same thing on my Windows 7 laptop as it's doing on my Win 8 desktop. I did send an email to support.

I will never again use steam after my experience with Civ 5! They take your money and refuse a refund even though there are issues with the game. I have never been able to finish a Civ 5 game without crashes, after many hours invested. Steam refused to help or give refund. Never Again.

On Impulse, when starting SoaSE:Trinity, I could just run the game from the desktop icon without starting Impulse. Or I could start Impulse, check for updates and run my game from there.

Question 1) With my other games that are on Steam, even if I use the desktop Icon, Steam starts. Will Rebellion also ALWAYS start Steam or can I still run it "independantly"?

Question 2) Will you be able to play the game WITHOUT being forced to update? I remember Shogun, even after disabling all updates on every settings page available, it would force me to update. I just wanted to play a game solo yet had to wait for 2GB patches.

Question 3) When I pre-ordered the game, there was no mention of Steam. I hate Steam. Rebellion is on Steam. If I can't run the game "independantly" or LAN with ease or disable updates, I no longer want the game. Will Stardock cancel my pre-order and refund my moneys?

I loved SoaSE Trinity with Impulse and want Rebellion, but not at the cost of selling my soul to Steam again (I just got it back )

**Edit**

Do not get me wrong - if I can run the game without Steam intruding/ruining the game like it has done for so many others I will play it even in Steam.

Question 1) With my other games that are on Steam, even if I use the desktop Icon, Steam starts. Will Rebellion also ALWAYS start Steam or can I still run it "independantly"?

Rebellion uses Steamworks and thus requires Steam to be running. Steam may be in offline mode, however.

Question 2) Will you be able to play the game WITHOUT being forced to update? I remember Shogun, even after disabling all updates on every settings page available, it would force me to update. I just wanted to play a game solo yet had to wait for 2GB patches.

The autoupdate settings in Steam (or offline mode) should prevent updates from being deployed automatically.

Question 3) When I pre-ordered the game, there was no mention of Steam. I hate Steam. Rebellion is on Steam. If I can't run the game "independantly" or LAN with ease or disable updates, I no longer want the game. Will Stardock cancel my pre-order and refund my moneys?

Thanks kryo. Got a message from lilB as well stating that "site states steamworks" and "the returns policy" etc.

Anycase, Steamworks it is, I wil have to live with it, even if downloading 500Mb takes a whole week. But does this mean "traditional LAN" functionality is gone? Where we play the game (my house) the physical broadband lines were stolen (South Africa rules ), so connecting to Steam to play a LAN game is not an option.